December 25 - Christmas Day
“Sakura-chan, you're here!” Mikoto Uchiha said happily after opening the door for the newcomer. “Come on, come on, don't be outside for too long in this cold. Sasuke will come down right away.”
"Thank you very much for inviting me Mikoto-san," Sakura replied shyly. “Where can I leave my coat? And the present?”
"You can leave your coat here," she said, pointing to a coat rack in the hall. “Regarding the present, does it have the name on it?” Sakura nodded to the question. “Perfect. You can leave it under the tree along with ours” after saying this there was a beep reminding Mikoto that she had work to do in the kitchen. “I'll be in the kitchen in case you need anything.”
Once Sakura was alone, she took off the coat she was wearing to leave it where she had been instructed. When she left the hall, she noticed that someone was looking at her and when she turned around she saw that it was Sasuke who had already come down. They stared at each other for a while.
She wore her characteristic pink hair down, which reached the height of her shoulder blades, with a red headband on her head. She was wearing black leggings along with a long sweater, which highlighted her figure and exposed her neck, red to match her headband and black ankle boots that covered her ankles. Finally, she wore some makeup that accentuated even more those emerald eyes and those pink lips that she had.
He wore his unruly black hair still a little damp from the shower. He was wearing a dark blue sweater, grayish jeans, and sneakers to match the sweater.
“Good morning, Sasuke-kun, Merry Christmas” the haired woman greeted him shyly.
"Merry Christmas, Sakura," he replied with a smile that only showed her. “Give me the present, I'll leave it under the tree” Sakura handed him the present and they went to the living room where the rest were waiting.
As they got closer, they heard their cousin Shisui's voice bragging about any nonsense.
“...you'll see how my present is the most impressive of all!”
“Yes, yes, whatever you say. Now help Itachi bring the cutlery” Fugaku replied as he placed the dishes on the table already tired of listening to his nephew all morning.
The Uchiha were dressed practically all the same, except that each one wore a sweater of a different color. Itachi was in black, Fugaku in dark gray and Shisui in navy blue.
The two young men were on their way to fulfill the task entrusted to them when Shisui suddenly shouted “Sakura-chan!” while receiving her with a hug. “And Sasu-chan is here too! Quick, put this on!” Shisui held out to them before disappearing into the kitchen.
They looked into each other's eyes and then at what they had in their hands. Their cousin had given them a Santa hat and a headband with reindeer antlers. When they looked up from the objects again, they saw that Itachi and his father were also wearing something on their heads.
“It was Kushina-san and Okaa-san's idea, and of course, Shisui loved the idea” Itachi said while shaking his head to make the springs he was wearing on his head move so that the snowmen moved. They turned their heads to see Fugaku, who was wearing a Grinch hat and shaking his head denying that he liked the idea and before they could say anything Itachi added with a laugh “Okaa-san chose his ornament.”
“Well, I think it fits him perfectly” Shisui said with a smirk as soon as he entered the door and handed Itachi part of the cutlery so that they could set the table. He wore his sash on his head and balls hung from it as if it were a Christmas tree. “Oba-san wants the two of you to lend her a hand with the starters” he said while pointing to the two teenagers who were putting on their respective decorations.
In the kitchen, Sakura and Mikoto were chatting animatedly while Sasuke just plated and listened to them. Once they finished preparing the food, the doorbell rang and Mikoto made her son go to receive the guests.
“Teme!” Naruto shouted when he saw his best friend after opening the door.
“Merry Christmas!” said his parents and Naruto at the same time.
“Merry Christmas, go ahead” replied the black-haired.
Sasuke ushered them in, and they took off their coats showing some matching Christmas sweaters. Naruto wore an orange one with drawings of toads wearing hats and jeans, Kushina wore a long green skirt and a green sweater with a red sleigh on it, and Minato wore a red one with a Christmas tree and lights.
Kushina immediately went to the kitchen to help Mikoto with the desserts she had just brought, and the men went to the living room where the rest were, Shisui bragging about something, again.
Sakura was about to leave the kitchen when she came across a laden Kushina.
“Sakura-chan, Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas, let me help you with the bags.”
“Ah! Thank you very much, Sakura-chan. Mikoto, Merry Christmas!”
“Merry Christmas” she smiled at her best friend as she made room for her in her large kitchen.
“Sakura-chan how beautiful and old you are, I hope the boys don't give you too much work in class, especially Naruto.”
“Don't worry Kushina-san, the two of them behave well, and if not, Kakashi-sensei is there to control them” replied the young woman laughing and still a little blushing after the compliment received by the redhead.
“Speaking of Kakashi, where has he gone? He brought the main course," Kushina snorted. “Always arriving late, we will have to teach him manners at once.”
“They will arrive soon, Rin called me to let me know that they were delayed because of the men” Mikoto replied trying to relax her.
"By the way, Sakura-chan, talking about men," Kushina said, changing her tone to a naughtier one after focusing her attention on the young woman. “Do you already have a boyfriend? Or hasn't Sasuke-chan asked you yet?” asked the redhead with a mocking smile knowing the effect it had on her.
At this comment, Sakura's face matched her sweater. Was it so noticeable that she had been in love with Sasuke since they met? But above all, how could she think of asking her such a question, and in front of the mother of the above-mentioned? Sakura at that moment could only wish for the earth to swallow her.
“Kushina! Don't make the girl nervous” Mikoto snapped.
“Come on! Naruto never tells me gossip about girls, besides, it's clear that your son has been in love with Sakura since they met, what is he waiting to tell her anything?”
"Don't you know him? He is just as shy and proud as his father. Or do you not remember when Fugaku and I started dating?”
At this exchange of words, Sakura only wished to disappear, as she was getting redder and redder.
“Of course, I remember” the redhead replied laughing. “I've never seen Fugaku more embarrassed in my life," the two friends laughed as they recalled the past. “But seriously, hasn't Sasuke said anything yet, or asked you for advice on how to ask Sakura out or anything like that?”
“Let's say that of his own volition he has not said anything, but it is true that Shisui has more than once managed to get him to confess something by screwing him” Mikoto replied which caused Kushina to let out a high-pitched scream.
After these last words Sakura had it clear: she had to flee from there immediately. Did they know that she was still there and could hear them?
“And tell me, tell me, how was it...?” were the last words the pinkette heard as she left the kitchen and headed anywhere else but near those two women.
"Did Sasuke-kun like me? But it can't be, if he liked me, I would know, no? I mean, I would have realized, besides, how can he like me if he’s always saying I'm annoying. Anyway, why should he like me? Mikoto-san and Kushina-san must be imagining things, and as for Shisui-san, it's just that he likes to make Sasuke-kun angry," Sakura said to herself as she wandered down the corridor without paying attention to her surroundings. “Yes, it must be that."
“Sakura, are you okay?” A deep voice made her train of thoughts stop.
“AH, Sasuke-kun! Don't give me these scares” Sakura snapped at him who was turning even redder if she could.
"I was going to pick you up in the kitchen in case you need to-" Sasuke stopped when he saw that the young woman was about to faint. “Are you ok?”
"Yes, yes," she stammered, trying to look like she was fine. “It's just that I need to go to the bathroom for a moment” she replied between giggles as she fled to the bathroom.
Once she calmed down, Sakura decided to join the rest. As she walked towards the living room, she heard the doorbell indicating that those who were yet to come had just arrived, so since she was the closest to the entrance she decided to go and open the door herself.
“Merry Christmas!” said the three of them at the same time. “You look like you are from the family, going to receive the guests and everything” Obito commented as he received an elbow from Rin which caused him to wince in pain.
Sakura couldn't help but turn even redder. Did everyone in this house want her to have a heart attack today?
“Welcome, Merry Christmas” Sakura replied trying to change the subject. “Kakashi-sensei, Mikoto-san and Kushina-san are waiting for you in the kitchen, I wouldn't make them wait much longer.”
Kakashi headed to the kitchen with the bags of food while the rest headed to the living room to join the others. When they arrived, they saw Naruto and Shisui under the tree trying to figure out what was in each present, Sasuke was next to the two on the sofa but with his phone and finally the parents and Itachi were talking about Itachi's studies, being doing a doctorate at such a young age was not easy.
When they saw the newcomers Shisui hung their ornaments for them, Rin wore a sequined Santa hat along with a black sweater and brown tights with a short beige skirt, Obito was wearing a dark blue striped sweater and a headband with a Santa Claus on his head identical to Minato's. Naruto had decided to wear a headband just like Sasuke's because they were best friends and that's what best friends do, or so Naruto said.
Since Sakura re-entered the room, Sasuke did not stop watching her because he knew that something was wrong with her, luckily the pinkette could be distracted talking to Rin and Itachi and thus not think about who was watching her all the time.
Between Kakashi, Kushina and Mikoto brought the food to the table. Kakashi had donned a headband just like Sasuke and Naruto's, and Kushina and Mikoto wore one just like Itachi's. Before sitting down at the table, Mikoto took off the apron she was wearing over her long black dress, and they were able to start eating.
A quarter of an hour later they had all been placed at the table, it was a round table, so it was easier to communicate with each other. Sasuke had managed to sit between Naruto and Sakura, with Sakura on his right, if he could spend a Christmas meal away from his father and his cousin better, although the latter was not so far away since he was on the other side of Naruto, luckily he was telling his brother something in his ear (nothing good) and for the moment it did not bother him. In front of him was Kushina talking to her mother animatedly and with their husbands at their sides. On the other side of Minato were Kakashi and Obito discussing something that seemed important. And finally, Rin and Sakura were commenting on the new series that the two were watching.
They chatted and chatted quietly with each other over the meal. Until mothers saw an opportunity to attack, because it wouldn't be a Christmas meal if mothers don't interrogate their children, right? They saw the opportunity perfect after observing how Sakura and Sasuke chatted animatedly while he took food from her plate without her offering or complaining about his actions. It seemed that it was not the first or second time they had done it and clearly this caught the attention of the mothers.
"Sasu-chan," his mother called him. “What are you doing by taking food from Sakura-chan's plate?” With this comment, the attention of all the diners was focused on the couple of teenagers.
“Mikoto-san don't be angry with him, as I know that Sasuke-kun likes tomatoes, I leave the pieces on the edge for him to pick them up without having to ask me” Sakura replied a little blushing for being the center of attention of the whole table.
“But Sakura-chan, if he wants something from you, he has to tell you, not wait for you to read his mind and find out what he wants, he is older, he should say things out loud or he will be left with the desire if he doesn't say it.”
At this comment both teenagers felt that there was a double meaning, and these suspicions were confirmed by seeing the cunning fox face that Kushina put next to her mother, luckily, before anyone else could say anything, Itachi interrupted the conversation.
“Izumi just wrote to me wishing you all a happy holiday season” he lied, she hadn't just written to him, she had told him this morning but now he had to protect his little brother, thus diverting his mother's attention to him after hearing the name of his eldest son's girlfriend.
“Oh darling, tell her happy holidays too, and that I wish she could be here” Mikoto replied, Izumi this year could not be with them because she was traveling with her family. “With so many single men one misses the company of more women” she said with a mocking smile.
Seeing where Mikoto's attention was going again, Rin intervened before she could say anything thus protecting Sakura, they would not be blood sisters, but they certainly loved each other as such.
“And speaking of singles, Kakashi, when do you plan to bring someone?”
The table fell silent, no one expected the attention to be focused on the gray-haired man and even less him because of how his eyes were opened.
Kushina, as a good mother, began to interrogate him without letting him answer, with Minato in between to calm his wife and protect his former student.
“Kakashi-sensei gets along very well with Iruka-sensei, I would almost say that they like each other” Naruto blurted out with his hands resting on his head and his eyes closed a little sulkingly. “Sometimes I think that they punish me on purpose just for having an excuse to see each other. Which are few because I always behave well!” he added after remembering that he was confessing in front of his parents that he was frequently punished.
“Dobe, they punish you because you never pay attention” Sasuke replied.
“Oi, Teme”
“No way! Kakashi-sensei and Iruka-sensei!” Sakura shouted surprised and at the same time to prevent her friends from getting into trouble.
“When did you plan to tell us anything young man?” Kushina asked Kakashi inquisitively.
"Although if you think about it, it makes a lot of sense," Sakura muttered aloud. “That would explain why Naruto is punished frequently.”
“Hey! That I'm still here” Naruto reproached.
"And also, why Kakashi-sensei is so interested in doing group work and in Iruka-sensei's classes," Sakura continued to murmur. “And that's why two days a week we have history and literature together for two hours! God, it's true! Kakashi-sensei likes Iruka-sensei!” Sakura shouted after her great discovery.
If anyone wanted to be swallowed up by the earth right now, it wasn't Sakura for the first time all day. Kakashi began to laugh sheepishly as he ran a hand down the back of his neck trying to divert attention from him, which was to no avail.
"Okay, it's true," Kakashi confessed after realizing that he could no longer escape. “It is true that we have met sometimes and nothing more, but it is nothing serious or anything like that.”
“For the moment” added his best friend while sipping a drink of wine.
“What do you mean, Obito?” Kakashi asked shyly laughing.
“Oh, come on, don't deny me now that you don't worry that Iruka will think badly of you even though you like him to scold you because ‘he's the only one who dares to stand up to you’, or haven't you stopped reading your famous books in front of your students when Iruka is present?”
“Oh God! IT'S TRUE!” Sakura exclaimed, putting her hands to her mouth.
“And when did you plan to say anything!?” the other three women accused Obito.
While they kept interrogating the pair of friends and Minato trying to calm the women, Fugaku, who didn't care about everything, had gone for dessert. The other boys felt sorry for the two adults but did not dare to say anything lest they divert their attention to them. When Shisui, who had been laughing all the time about the situation, resting his head in his hand on the table said:
“If you want, we can tell Iruka to stop by, so you can kiss under the mistletoe” he pointed with his eyes to where Mikoto and he had hung it that same morning. “It also works for more couples” he added with a wink directed at his Sasu-chan.
Shisui definitely wanted to die today, and if a crime was committed in that house that afternoon, no one would put up opposition.
Once Fugaku returned with the desserts, the table calmed down a bit and everyone continued with the meal without further incident. Not because Fugaku was not interested in the topic of conversation, on the contrary, at night he would ask his wife everything he had discovered, but since he knew his wife very well and knew that the other three women could be like her, he took pity on the men and felt that he had to rescue them.
When they finished eating, the three teenagers went in search of the board games while the rest cleared the table, avoiding the mistletoe, some more than others along the way.
“Oi, have you managed to see Kakashi-sensei's face?” Naruto asked in a low voice for fear that someone else would hear them.
“It's incredible how we haven't been able to see it yet. It’s already strange that your teacher who never takes the mask off his face eats with you on Christmas Day and even more so that we have not been able to see it today” Sakura replied. “Do you think Iruka-sensei has seen his face? Or do you think they haven't kissed yet?”
“They may have kissed with the mask on” Naruto said.
“Yuck no, that's sure not.”
Sakura and Naruto continued to debate about the possible relationship between their teachers for a while.
“Can we stop talking about Kakashi and his life and focus on which games take down?” Sasuke interrupted them.
“Come on Teme, don't tell me that you are not intrigued by his love life, or are you jealous that Kakashi-sensei has someone and you don't?” Naruto asked him with a malicious smile.
“Tch” replied his friend who hid his face so that they would not see that he had turned a little red.
“Yes, Sasuke-kun is right, we must choose something since the others are waiting for us” Sakura quickly replied as she had also blushed after seeing that before looking away, Sasuke had looked at her.
The trio of teenagers went down to the living room with a selection of games to have a good time with their families. They were in the living room playing for several hours very animatedly and laughing.
They played Cluedo, where Itachi or Kakashi were always the killers. Party, in which they were divided into three teams and the girls' team won. Or also to the Trivial Pursuit where the group of young people lost.
"It wasn't fair," Naruto reproached. “We have had very difficult questions.”
“That! And besides, since you are older, you know more things," Shisui added.
“Come on, don't cry, it's you who have chosen the groups, or weren't you going to beat us with a landslide victory ‘dattebayo’?” Obito replied with a mocking smile.
“Just because you missed them doesn't mean they were difficult” Sakura said to Naruto.
“But Sakura-chan, they were very difficult. Even Sasuke found them difficult. He himself said that neither for you nor for Itachi they were going to be any problem.”
“Hn” Sasuke replied.
Seeing that the young men were going to start another possible fight, Mikoto proposed that the Secret Santa's presents be opened to cheer them up.
“Yes!” Naruto, Sakura and Shisui shouted in unison.
And so came the moment that everyone wanted: to open the presents of the secret Santa. Who would have made the most original present? Or the most impressive?
The first person to open her present was Kushina, her secret Santa had been Obito who had given her a trip to a spa and a red kimono like her hair with a print of orange and pink flowers.
“It's very nice Obito, thank you very much, I'm looking forward to spring so I can wear it” she thanked him while giving him a mother's kiss.
The next to open his present was Itachi, he had been given a gray two-piece pajama with a print of his cousin Shisui's face all over it.
“HAHAHA, that could be the best present of all” said his cousin in tears.
It turned out that the present had been given to him by Minato, who was very proud of his choice.
After Itachi, who opened his present was Kakashi, what he had been given undoubtedly surprised him.
"Mm, this..., it's definitely a unique present..." he said muttering, trying to guess who had given him the present. “Some figurines of the teenage mutant ninja turtles and the book ‘Unbridled Passion’ undoubtedly a curious choice... Sakura? Naruto? Anything you want to say?”
"Actually, it was me," Sasuke replied laughing along with the other two friends at the same time. “Although I had a little help from Sakura, the book was chosen by her.”
Faced with this revelation Kakashi did not know what to answer, the truth is, he had liked his student's detail very much.
“Thank you very much, Sasuke, it is a great present, I will keep it with affection. And you Sakura, we'll talk about books, you and me” he said to Sakura with a look of complicity.
“It's my turn, it's my turn, now I'm going” Shisui said very happily.
When he took his present, he began to analyze it, the shape and size sounded familiar to him as he had seen it before, while he would have said it in a low voice "No, no, not what I think it is" and indeed, it was what he feared.
“NO!” he shouted while showing pajamas like his cousin's but instead of his face, with the face of his cousin Itachi.
Everyone present started laughing at the face Shisui had made.
“Please put it on and I'll take a picture of the two of you together.” Mikoto begged them.
“Be careful Shisui that as Izumi sees that pajamas she will want it for her” Sasuke said with a smirk laugh.
“I told you that my present was going to be the best, dattebayo” Naruto said proud of the present that received a murderous look from Shisui.
While the cousins were going to change, Rin opened her present. It was an aphrodisiac perfume, and she poured a little over it to taste it.
“It smells very good” commented Obito who approached to her neck to smell it.
"That's the reaction I expected," Kushina commented with a smirk, causing the couple to blush. “I don't know Obito, let's see if you dare to ask your girlfriend for something.”
Before continuing with the presents, the two cousins returned with their pajamas on and Mikoto made them stand next to the Christmas tree so that they could take a photo together. Sasuke and Fugaku laugh non-stop.
“Look, Shisui, in the end your present was going to be the most impressive of all” Fugaku said laughing.
“I'm going to show it to everyone” Mikoto said with a wide smile.
At that moment Shisui was regretting everything.
Then Mikoto was the one who opened his present. It was a white porcelain sculpture. The sculpture consisted of a pregnant woman leaning on an arch, said arch with flowers painted in warm colors like the bottom of the woman's skirt. As soon as Mikoto saw her she began to cry, only one person could have been the one who had given it to her.
"Come here, let me give you a kiss," she said to her eldest son through tears. “You didn't have to give me this, with a kitchen apron I was happy.”
"I've always wanted to compensate you for the figure I broke when I started walking," said her son who was being squeezed by his mother as she hugged him back. “I know how much you cared about it and wanted to make it up to you.”
“Idiot” Mikoto said between tears and a smile.
Once they put the sculpture to safety it was Naruto's turn who could not resist the urge to open his present, so far, his present was the largest of all.
“WHOALAH! I love everything!” exclaimed the blond while trying on his present.
On it was a winter jacket of a phosphor orange, the end of the sleeves with black stripes, and the end of the hood had fox ears. Along with the jacket was a green purse in the shape of a frog.
“Mm...” Naruto muttered thoughtfully with his eyes closed. “Whoever gave me this can only be someone with very good taste, and that can only be Sakura-chan.”
"That's right," the pinkette replied happily as she received a bear hug from her best friend. “I remembered how you felt when your old purse broke and when I saw a very similar one, I couldn't help it. With the jacket Sasuke-kun helped me choose it.”
“Did you two go shopping for the presents without me?” asked the blond disappointed.
“Dobe, you couldn't come.”
“Why not?” Naruto said that he felt betrayed.
“Well, because otherwise the present wouldn't have been a surprise” Sakura replied.
“Oh right, that makes sense. Now open yours Sakura-chan” Naruto added with a smile from ear to ear.
“Okey.”
Her present was the smallest of all, she was a little crestfallen, to be honest. All the previous presents had been personalized and very original and she felt that hers had been given as an obligation. When she removed the wrapping, she saw that it was a wooden box.
She opened the box gently, in it was a hairpin with a rose at one end.
“Wow! It's so pretty!”
“Sakura-chan, there is more” Rin said softly with a smile. She knew the pinkette and knew that tone wasn't quite sincere, so she took the box and showed her that there was a note in the background. “Open it.”
And Sakura read aloud:
" ‘Sakura Haruno, I hope I can meet you when I come home this summer. I've heard very good things about you, and I've been impressed, so I'd like you to be my apprentice. Greetings,’ " – when she read the sender's name Sakura's hands began to tremble, she couldn't believe her eyes. " ‘Tsunade Senju’ " she stammered through tears and threw herself sobbing into Rin's arms.
“I think you liked my present eh, Sakura” the pinkette nodded in her arms. “It turns out that I'm very good friends with Shizune, her apprentice, and I asked her to do me a little favor” she said with a smile to the haired woman.
“Thank you very much, Rin, this is my dream” Sakura thanked her with a bright smile and moistened eyes.
“What a joy Sakura-chan, we are very happy for you” Mikoto supported her.
Sasuke, who was next to her, grabbed her hand as a sign of support and when she looked at him, he gave her an affectionate smile while holding out a handkerchief.
“Thank you Sasuke-kun” she said in a low voice so that only he could hear her.
“I think I could accept Sakura-chan's present as the most amazing of all, but the one I have made has yet to be opened.” Shisui said as he handed Fugaku his present.
The presents were a dressing gown, a set of a couple of teacups, and a trip to Tea Country for two.
“How much I love my wife” said Fugaku while kissing his wife on the cheek who was next to him. Only one person could have given him that present. “A week-long trip without children, paradise.”
"You're going to miss us," his eldest son reproached him.
“Who knows, I'm looking forward to going on a trip to check it out” everyone laughed.
Then Minato opened his present: Kakashi had given him the same thing that had been given to his wife, a trip to a spa and a blue kimono like his eyes.
“Oh, thank you very much Kakashi, I'm also looking forward to going on a trip to see if I miss you” Minato said with a wink while looking at his friend complicitly.
Finally, it was Sasuke's turn, he was very nervous because there were only two presents left, and he was anxious to know what he had been presented. If Sakura's present was the smallest, his was tiny in comparison, he was left checkered when he saw that his present was only an envelope. Was he so unlucky that he had been given money directly? Did he matter so little?
He opened the envelope disappointed as when he was little and had been angry with his parents but did not want them to notice.
“ ‘Look behind the sofa’ ” read Sakura aloud who was next to him.
Everyone made room to move the sofa and see what was behind it. There they found a very long package. Sasuke opened it, this time his face showed a curious face.
When he opened the present, he gasped. There was a new snowboard there. Who had given him this present? Did anyone know what he wanted for years? The only person who knew was Sakura and she had not been able to give it to him because she had already given the present to Naruto, so who had it been? Only two people remained, his father and Kakashi.
“Do you like the present, Sasuke?” his father asked him.
“Otou-san, is that up to you? I don't know what to say.”
“That's right, I thought it was time for you to have your own board and not the one inherited from your brother. You will be able to use it for the first time in a few days.”
“Thank you” Sasuke thanked his father from the heart.
“Aren't all you nervous about what the best present of all is?” Shisui asked with a smirk.
Only Obito's present remained and seeing that Shisui gave it to him didn't seem good at all.
“What is this?” Obito asked in a serious tone. In his hands he had a small bust of his face.
“Isn't that obvious? You're always saying that your face will end up being remembered in stone of how important you are. Look, you can also use it as a paperweight” Shisui explained while showing him the uses it could have.
“I must admit Shisui, that in the end your present has been the most incredible of all” his uncle confessed with a laugh.
This statement provoked laughter from those present, thus concluding an afternoon of exchanging presents with the family.
When they were cleaning up the room, what everyone feared happened, well, only two people feared it.
“STILL!” Shisui shouted, causing those who were present to stop on the spot. “Look!” he said pointing at the heads of two people.
The mistletoe, the damn mistletoe. Sasuke and Sakura had inadvertently stopped talking under it, and to their bad luck, Shisui had hunted them down. And not only him, there were also his brother, Naruto and Kakashi as witnesses.
Sasuke glared at his cousin.
"Sa- Sasuke-kun," said the pinkette stuttering, focusing the black-haired man's attention on her. “We- we don't need to do anything just because they're in front of us," added a Sakura who was red as a tomato with her eyes fixed on the ground while playing with her trembling hands.
“Hn” is the last thing the pinkette heard before noticing a tap with his index finger and middle finger on her forehead.
When she looked up, she saw a blushing Sasuke looking to the side with his hands in his pockets and on the other side were his cousin and brother with their mouths open, Shisui grabbing Itachi's forearm processing what they had just seen.
“We haven't dreamed it.”
“Nop.”
“Our Sasu-chan has just confessed to Sakura-chan that he loves her.”
“Yes.”
“And your mother has not seen it.”
“And it better keep it like that, you know how she would be if she knew.”
“But she would be very happy.”
“She will end up knowing, but we cannot betray him, he would kill us.”
They whispered between the two of them.
“What's going on? I don't understand” a confused Naruto asked a mysteriously smiling Kakashi.
“Nothing Naruto, it was nothing. We will finish picking up or we will be late.”
The two teenagers were walking down the street on their way to Sakura's house, both with their hands in their pockets.
“Have you had a good time, Sakura? I hope no one has bothered you” asked the black-haired a little worried because he knew what his family was like, and he was afraid that she wouldn’t have been comfortable.
“Don't worry Sasuke-kun, it was all wonderful” the pinkette replied happily, her cheeks rosy from the cold.
Sasuke was accompanying Sakura to her house, which was about a ten-minute walk from his, because his mother had insisted that she wouldn’t go alone on the street at that time of night, although he was also going to offer to accompany her to spend more time with her and in private, with no one else around. Although the latter had not been entirely possible. Mikoto had insisted that his brother and cousin accompany them so that later, on his way back, he wouldn’t be alone and to take out the garbage while he was at it.
So there he was, walking next to the girl to whom he had confessed a few moments ago that he liked her, and about five steps behind them were his brother and cousin whispering, and when he turned to look at them they greeted him with a smile from ear to ear that said ‘we aren’t talking about you two at all, go about your business.’
No, it wasn’t going the way he wanted. He had to get rid of the two crows that followed them and find the courage to tell Sakura what he felt, and they were getting closer and closer to her house, so he had no time left. Sasuke panicked, but a voice made him disconnect from his thoughts.
“Guys, we're going to turn on this street to throw away the garbage, it's going to take a while because Shisui hasn't separated the glass.”
“What are you saying? I recycle perfectly-“ Itachi cut him off, making him silence with his hand.
“Go and we will wait for you here at the crossroads, Sasuke.”
Sakura's house was in the other direction of the crossing, about four houses away, privacy enough. He could do it.
She was nervous, she tightly pressed the gift in her pocket while she found the strength to give him the present, now was the perfect moment, they had arrived at the door of her house.
“I have something for you” both said in unison.
Both grimaced in confusion and Sakura spoke first.
"I have a gift for you," she said as she showed him the present with both hands looking at the ground with red cheeks, this time not because of the cold. “The other day when we went shopping together, when we said goodbye, I went into a store and bought this for you.”
"I did the same," said an equally blushing Sasuke as he took his gift out of his pocket. “Do we open them at the same time?” Sakura nodded and the presents were exchanged.
She had given him a wide black leather bracelet and on the back was engraved his name and the symbol of his family. He had given her a rose gold bracelet with cherry blossoms scattered along it, with a hook of flat magnets superimposed on each other that read ‘Thank you.’ Sakura was going to start crying and this worried Sasuke.
“You didn't like it?”
"I love it," said the pinkette almost out of breath. “In comparison, my gift is shabby.”
“What do you say, but if it is perfect” he replied while showing her the bracelet already tied in his right hand “Do you want me to put yours on you?” asked a Sasuke matching his favorite food. Sakura nodded and held out her left hand.
“It's beautiful. Thank you very much, Sasuke-kun” the pinkette thanked him while bringing her left hand to her chest and with her right she grabbed the bracelet.
Sasuke stepped forward and touched her chin with his right hand so that she would look up and look him in the eye. Attracted by his eyes, she took another step forward, they were so close that they could feel each other's breathing. And in the blink of an eye their lips came together.
Sasuke grabbed the back of her neck to tilt her head a little and deepen the kiss while Sakura grabbed the collar of his jacket with both hands. It was a tender but intense kiss. Everything that their words couldn’t express, their kiss said it all.
“Good night, Sasuke-kun” she said when they parted from the kiss.
“Good evening, Sakura. See you in a few days" and he kissed her on the cheek to say goodbye.
When Sasuke arrived at the intersection, they were already waiting for him.
“What?” Sasuke asked his companions who were smiling mockingly at him.
“Nothing, nothing, everything fine I guess. How did the kiss go?” his cousin asked provoking him.
“We haven't kissed” replied a grumpy Sasuke.
“And what's that lipstick stain you have there?” his brother asked him while pointing to the corner of his mouth. Sasuke immediately put his hands to his face to try to remove the stain as he turned red. “Oh don't worry, you don't have anything in your face.”
“Nii-san!” Sasuke reproached his brother who felt betrayed.
They returned home laughing while interrogating a red but happy Sasuke because finally Sakura and he had kissed. Itachi and Shisui promised him that they would keep it a secret and that they would not say a word to her mother. For the moment.
When he got home, he saw that he had a message from Sakura. It was an image of her smiling with her head resting on the hand where she was wearing the bracelet and the "Thank you" was perfectly visible.
And that night they didn't sleep because they spent time talking on the phone.